The animation takes viewers on a journey to understand how patient data is created and shared and the important role it plays in research to improve the health of patients and populations. Examples are highlighted with relevant case studies and the measures that universities must take to ensure patient data is protected and accessed is explained.

The animation forms part of the #DataSavesLives campaign that has been supported by Connected Health Cities, The Farr Institute and the Wessex AHSN since it was launched by The University of Manchester in 2015.

Stephen Melia, Communications Lead at Connected Health Cities (CHC) said: “Over the last four years we’ve been engaging with patients and members of the public in a variety of ways to highlight the positive re-use of patient data in research. We’ve found that often people have the same questions and sometimes a lack of understanding about how their data is used and shared to improve health.

“Teaming up with our colleagues at The Farr Institute, we wanted to create a short video that answered these questions and reassured people that UK universities take seriously their responsibilities regarding the safe and secure use of patient data. Ultimately it’s about transparency and being open about the work we deliver”

“We developed the animation with patients and members of the public from across the UK. It’s really important to both organisations that we listen to what the public have to say on the subject of health data sharing and this approach is embedded into our research.”

Cherry Martin, Communications Manager at The Farr Institute said: “The #DataSavesLives campaign is a plain-English way of talking about health data science research and the positive impacts it has on patients and society. It helps us build public trust around using patient data in research and allows us to highlight the work being done that really is helping to save lives. Social media is a powerful tool. The #DataSavesLives campaign has created a direct channel of communication between health data professionals and the public and is now used by organisations across the world, united in supporting the re-use of data for research.“

“It’s a way for the research community to say “this is why we do what we do”, and hopefully helps non-expert audiences and the public to understand why using data in research is important for all of us.”

“We hope this short film will be a useful tool for health and research communities to stimulate discussions around the importance of patient data over the coming months and we invite all corners of the research community, NHS, charities, industry, and indeed the public, to support our message by sharing the video - data really does save lives.”